Open Space for Community and Voluntary Forum

louth | miscellaneous | event notice Monday April 16, 2007 18:21 by Sean Crudden - LCC&VF sean.crudden at iol dot ie Jenkinstown, Dundalk, Co Louth. 087 9739945

Louth County Community and Voluntary Forum

The forum is to use open space technology in a full-day session on Saturday 28 April 2007 in The Fairways Hotel, Dundalk. The idea is to review the progress of the forum over the last few years and to plot the way ahead. Not only stakeholders who may already have a connection with the forum are invited to attend the open space day but also anyone who is interested in or curious about the forum's function and who may have ideas or opinions which might help to advance the work of the forum.

Louth County Community and Voluntary Forum will host an open space event on Saturday 28th April 2007, from 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., in the Fairways Hotel, Dundalk.

The purpose of the event is to find out how the forum can be better at representing the views, the needs and the opinions of the Community and Voluntary Sector in Louth.

The forum is made up of elected representatives of the community and voluntary organisations in Co Louth. Representatives of the forum sit on several development boards, committees, boards of management and task forces which operate, many of them, on a county-wide basis.

The members of the forum donate a lot of their time and energy to further the work of the forum but, currently, members believe that there is room for improvement. "Open Space Technology" is the chosen solution to encourage participation and to help to plot a way ahead for the forum.

The forum is inviting a wide variety of people to this event, including elected local representatives and staff from the local authorities and other statutory agencies. Not only members of the forum are asked to participate but also any member of the public who wishes to contribute ideas which might help the work of the forum in the future.

Open Space Technology is an up-to-date method that has proved very useful in working with groups of people from very diverse backgrounds with many different agendas. Participants set the agenda on the day and therefore discuss the topics that are of most importance to them under the banner of a "calling question." The calling question for this event is

"How can we better represent the views, needs and opinions of the Community and Voluntary Sector in Louth?"

Louth County Community and Voluntary Forum has engaged the services of Alan Hayes to facilitate the event. Alan has used open space with groups and organisations like the forum before and he will guide the day and provide the forum with the necessary assistance to work through the process.

Transport is available for anyone who would like to attend but would otherwise have difficulty getting to the venue. Meals and refreshments will be available throughout the day in the hotel, so potential participants should not worry about it costing too much money to take part. Anyone who believes they would like to participate but feels there is something preventing them from attending should make contact with the forum to work out some resolution to the problem. Personal assistants/helpers are welcome to accompany those who require such support.

Participants will need to book their place in order to take part and should contact the forum development worker, Alison O’Neil, on or before Monday 23rd April. You can write, phone, text or email your response to

Alison O’Neil
Open Space
Louth County Community and Voluntary Forum
c/o Community and Enterprise
Louth County Council
County Hall
Dundalk
Co. Louth

Telephone 042 932 4302

Text 086 6013781 (please remember to include your name)

Email louthcommunityforum@louthcoco.ie

The forum’s website can be found at www.louthcommunityforum.ie/